Minimus is a 2-day competition consisting of three disciplines, swimming, running, and riding. Points are awarded to competitors for their performance in each discipline. The overall winner is the competitor with the most points after all three disciplines. Participants must be U-12 on the 1st of January of the current year. Irish Pony Club D+ test standard is recommended for this competition.

The Minimus Championships is a team competition where members from branches form a team of three/four for the competition. Individual trophies are awarded to boys and girls for the best overall winners and the best in the disciplines of running and swimming. Teams can be all male, all female and mixed.

Training for minimus started in January. XC jumps are at a height of 80cms. Any Under 12 members who feel that they would like to be jumping 80cms in 2024 should do the minimus training. Watch out for texts on this.

Any Members who are interested in Minimus please contact Kevin Quinlan or Susie Corcoran. 

Swimming/Running Training

Swimming training has commenced in Aura Swimming pool Trim on Monday evenings. Members will be notified at the start of each term and payment is made through itsplainsailing. For the competition, members must swim as many lengths/meters as they can in a certain amount of time. Please note this is swimming training and not lessons and members must be able to competently swim a minimum of 25m in at least 2 different strokes. 

Running Training will commence when the evenings get brighter, but members should be encouraged to practice their running at home. For the competition, members run 1km in as fast a time as possible.

 Cross Country Training

Hunter Trails organised by local Hunts will commence in early March and members are encouraged to try and do as many of these as they can to give the children confidence in a competition setting. Many of these hunter trails now offer pre novice courses which are great to get the kids started. Signed waivers witnessed by a solicitor are also needed for these events. For your child to be considered for the Minimus Championships they must be signed off by our DCs and an instructor. So, it is important that members get out to as many rallies and competitions as possible to ensure they are competent for the championships. It is a huge responsible to sign off on members and so to avoid disappointment we ask that members are seen as much as possible.

Individuals and Teams of 4(which can be mixed) and are selected by the DC and instructors.

Pony Clubs around the country run Fun Minimuses in the months running up to the championships. Entries for these competitions will be on the relevant pony club website and it is recommended that you like other Pony Club Facebook pages to help keep you informed of entry open dates, etc.

Members need to do as many of these fun minimuses as possible to allow our DCs to sign them off as competent for the Championships. They are a great way of gaining experience without the pressure of it being a championship. It’s also a great way for members to hang out and get to know each other. By competing in the fun minimuses, many children AND parents feel that they participated extensively in the competition even if they aren’t chosen by the club to participate in the championship.

Below is a list of Fun Minimuses in 2024

25th Feb – Co. Clare Pony Club, Active Leisure, Ennis – no cross country.

3rd March, Wexford Hunt, – no XC, New Ross.

10th March, North Kilkenny – no cross country, swimming in Kilkenny city

18th March, National Triathlon Final, no XC, Athy

Possible Venues for Minimus competitions with XC:

April: Kildare PC, Punchestown

May: Laois PC, Stradbally Hall

May: Carlow PC, Bagnelstown

June: Golden Vale PC, Thurles

For further details please contact, Kevin Quinlan or Susie Corcoran.

IPC Tetrathlon & Minimus Rules

Click here for the Irish Pony Club Tetrathlon & Minimus Rules

IPC Cross Country Tack Sheet

Click here for the IPC Cross Country Tack Sheet.